© Shamsul Haque Suza, RDRS.
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| Rahima is 16 years old and do not want to marry. She will rather study. |
Child marriage is a norm in our village and area. Most girls are married off by the age of 10.
I faced this first hand. My parents wanted me to get married when I was 11 years old and studied in Class 5.
When I refused, all our relatives tried to put pressure on my father. They would often taunt him about me. They would tell me that I was a poor man’s daughter and that I should not dream for the stars. ‘Who will give you a job?’ they often questioned. They really put pressure on my father.
When a lot of people put pressure on one man, he is bound to get cowered. But I stood firm. I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to study.
When I passed my Class 5, I dreamt of passing exams for Class 10. I reasoned that if I did manage to study that far then I could get a job in some NGO.
Chance to earn
I always wanted to study and so I struggled on, with my parents constantly pressuring me for marriage.
Then when I was in Class 8, RDRS came to this area. They organized two training courses for young people to teach young children using innovative toys. I got trained and then started giving classes.
The first month I earned 200 Taka. I was so happy. I took the money to my parents and told them that if I can earn money at such a small age, surely when I grow up I will earn more.
This assured them a little. This gave me strength to pursue my goal with more determination.I still teach the young children, but now there is no new training and no new toys. I sometimes invent new toys myself, because the children also want new things. What I really wish is that the organization gives some new toys and training.
I passed my Class 10 in 2009 and now I study in college.
Spread the word
Although the floods have never destroyed my home, my family has been as affected by the floods.
| DCA in Bangladesh |
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| Rahima is a member of the Village Disaster Management Committee (VDMC) recently formed by DanChurchAid's partner Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS) in Bangladesh. |
I am part of the local VDMC (Village Disaster Management Committee) so that I can do something for my village.
I want to know more about climate change and how it affects us. I want to share this knowledge with others. I want to put an end to child marriage. Through this committee I believe I will get the chance to talk to people about ending this practice.
By Priyanka Mukherjee Mittal
Regional Information and Documentation Officer, DanChurch Aid, New Delhi, India